Free Pentomino Puzzles for Word: 10 Printables
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These free pentomino puzzles give you everything for a pentomino lesson: the 12 pieces to cut out, three puzzle boards, easy, medium and hard challenges with answers, a find-all-12 discovery sheet and an area and perimeter worksheet, on US Letter and A4, in colour and in black and white. I’m Patrick Elliott, a teacher and Inclusion Lead. I generated every challenge outline with code and checked each one with a puzzle solver, so every challenge can be solved, and every page that pieces go on is measured to match the pieces sheet exactly.
In this guide, you’ll find what is in the pack, how to print the pieces at the right size, and how to run a pentomino lesson.
What’s in the Pentomino Puzzles
| Paper | Printable | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| US Letter | Pentomino Pieces | The 12 pieces to cut out, 3/4 in (US Letter) or 2 cm (A4) squares |
| US Letter | Blank Pentomino Pieces | The 12 pieces to colour in and cut out, same size |
| US Letter | 6 x 10 Pentomino Board | Full-size 6 x 10 board with one answer |
| US Letter | 5 x 12 Pentomino Board | Full-size 5 x 12 board (landscape) with one answer |
| US Letter | 8 x 8 Pentomino Board with a Hole | Full-size 8 x 8 board with a 2 x 2 hole and one answer |
| US Letter | Easy Pentomino Challenges | 4 full-size challenge mats (3-5 pieces), reference cards and answers |
| US Letter | Medium Pentomino Challenges | 4 full-size challenge mats (6-8 pieces), reference cards and answers |
| US Letter | Hard Pentomino Challenges | 4 full-size challenge mats (9-12 pieces), reference cards and answers |
| US Letter | Find All 12 Pentominoes | Discovery sheet on squared paper with the answer page |
| US Letter | Pentomino Area and Perimeter | Area, perimeter and turn-and-flip worksheet with answers |
| A4 | Pentomino Pieces | The 12 pieces to cut out, 3/4 in (US Letter) or 2 cm (A4) squares |
| A4 | Blank Pentomino Pieces | The 12 pieces to colour in and cut out, same size |
| A4 | 6 x 10 Pentomino Board | Full-size 6 x 10 board with one answer |
| A4 | 5 x 12 Pentomino Board | Full-size 5 x 12 board (landscape) with one answer |
| A4 | 8 x 8 Pentomino Board with a Hole | Full-size 8 x 8 board with a 2 x 2 hole and one answer |
| A4 | Easy Pentomino Challenges | 4 full-size challenge mats (3-5 pieces), reference cards and answers |
| A4 | Medium Pentomino Challenges | 4 full-size challenge mats (6-8 pieces), reference cards and answers |
| A4 | Hard Pentomino Challenges | 4 full-size challenge mats (9-12 pieces), reference cards and answers |
| A4 | Find All 12 Pentominoes | Discovery sheet on squared paper with the answer page |
| A4 | Pentomino Area and Perimeter | Area, perimeter and turn-and-flip worksheet with answers |
👉 Every page that pieces go on uses the same square size as the pieces sheet: 3/4 inch on US Letter and 2 cm on A4. Print at 100% (Actual size) and the cut-out pieces fit every board and challenge exactly.
What Are Pentominoes?
A pentomino is a shape made of five squares joined edge to edge. There are exactly 12 different pentominoes, named after the letters they look like: F, I, L, N, P, T, U, V, W, X, Y and Z. Fitting them together builds spatial reasoning, problem solving and persistence, and they make area and perimeter concrete: every piece has an area of 5 squares, and every perimeter is 12 except P, which is 10. Every challenge in this pack was checked by computer to make sure it can be solved.
What Is in the Pentomino Pack?
- Pentomino pieces: all 12 pieces in colour with letters, plus a blank version to colour before cutting.
- Three boards: 6 x 10 (2,339 solutions), 5 x 12 (1,010 solutions) and 8 x 8 with a 2 x 2 hole (65 solutions), each with an answer page.
- Easy, medium and hard challenges: four full-size outlines each, using 3 to 12 pieces, plus a page of small cards and an answer page.
- Find all 12: a discovery sheet where children draw every pentomino on squared paper, with answers.
- Area and perimeter: the area and perimeter of every piece, plus turn and flip tasks, with answers.
- Black and white versions: every page also comes in black and white, to save ink.
How to Use the Pentomino Puzzles
- Choose your paper size above, download the ZIP and print the pieces sheet at 100% on card if you can.
- Cut out the 12 pieces along the thick lines; one set per child or pair works well.
- Start with the easy challenges, placing the pieces straight onto the outline.
- Move on to medium and hard challenges, then try to fill a whole board.
- Use the find-all-12 and area and perimeter sheets to turn the puzzle into a maths lesson.
Laminate the pieces and boards so they last all year, and keep each set in a zip bag. Remind children that pieces can be turned and flipped. For more maths practice, try the fraction worksheets.
How to Print the Pentominoes
Print at 100% (Actual size), never Fit to page, on the same paper as the file, US Letter or A4. Each square is 3/4 inch on US Letter and 2 cm on A4, so the cut-out pieces fit every board and challenge. Print the pieces on card if you can, and print the 5 x 12 board landscape.
FAQs
Are these pentomino puzzles free?
Yes. Choose US Letter or A4, colour or black and white, and download all 10 printables in one ZIP file at no cost.
What size are the pieces?
Each square is 3/4 inch on US Letter and 2 cm on A4. Print at 100% (Actual size) so the pieces fit the boards and challenges exactly.
Will plastic pentominoes fit?
Most classroom plastic sets use 1 inch squares, which are larger than these pages. Use the printed pieces from the pack for a perfect fit.
Are there answers?
Yes. Every board, challenge set and worksheet has an answer page. Many challenges have more than one answer, so other solutions can be right too.
What ages are they for?
They suit ages 6 to 12. The easy challenges use 3 to 5 pieces; the hard ones use up to 12.
Is there a black and white version?
Yes. Every printable comes in colour and in black and white, on US Letter and A4. Choose Black and white, or All, in the download box.
Conclusion
These pentomino puzzles turn twelve simple shapes into a full lesson in problem solving, area and perimeter, made by a teacher in Microsoft Word.
Choose your paper size above, download the ZIP, and for another puzzle, try the printable mazes for kids.
Related Tutorials
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